City to recognize rescuers in Anchorage plane crash

Gov. Sean Parnell, Mayor Dan Sullivan and Police Chief Mark Mew are scheduled to participate.

More than 30 civilians put themselves in danger to assist in the rescue. The police department will also honor six of its officers who the department says went beyond the call of duty in responding to the crash.

A Cessna carrying five people crashed after takeoff from Merrill Field on June 1. It rammed into a building at Seventh Avenue and Ingra Street. A fire broke out while the occupants, a family of four and a teen who was going to be their babysitter, were trapped inside.

One child, 4-year-old Myles Cavner, was pinned inside and died. The four others survived due to an outpouring of help from passers-by and police.

Employees from nearby businesses, such as Affordable Used Cars, Kendall Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and Vito Auto Sales, were among the first to get there, according to a report by Anchorage police Lt. Garry Gilliam, who researched the rescue and wrote a report on who did what.

Off-duty military personnel were "instrumental in the early and most critical stages of the rescue," Gilliam wrote.

Many united to lift the left wing, which was tilted at an angle that prevented rescue. Others held up the tail.

Capt. Erik Boltman of the Alaska Air National Guard and Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacob Gibson, both of whom had been in traffic close by when the plane crashed, and police officer Will Cameron repeatedly reached into the fire to pull out survivors.

Police officer Sally Jones stood under the wing to help move victims away.

Several others moved the victims, wielded fire extinguishers or supplied them to the people on the front line.

When they learned Myles Cavner was still on the plane, four men went back into the fire to try to save him, but he was wedged in, and soon the fire was too intense.

The men who went back are Cameron, police officers Kevin Armstrong and Chris Simmons, and Federal Protective Service inspector Chris Heitstuman, Gilliam said.

The rescue took just four minutes, he said.

Find Rosemary Shinohara online at adn.com/contact/rshinohara or call her at 257-4340.